Realm of Trials and Trickery by Claire Wright EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Claire Wright
- Language: English
- Genre: Fantasy Romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2.7 MB
- Price: Free
Maebh
Maebh had always been a fighter at heart. The woodland of Tír na
nÓg held its breath as she danced, not with costumes or heeled
shoes, but with steel and fury. The forest was her stage, the heavy weight of
her sword the only embellishment she needed. Her blade was a gleaming
arc of silver, meeting its kin with a resounding clang, reverberating against
her bones as the ancient trees watched.
Maebh’s footwork was impeccable, her steps calculated. Her mother
would have found fault somewhere. The thought had her stumble as her
opponent lunged, but Maebh sidestepped in time. Sending a spray of leaves
and twigs into the air with a fast pivot, her blonde curls escaped their plait
and danced wildly. With each twist and turn, she felt the damp earth beneath
her boots, but the clashing steel was not enough. The rattle of her bones
with each hit did little to hold back the tide of her reality.
Matriarch. But not truly.
“Is that all you’ve got?” she asked with a wicked smirk, raising her
weapon again.
Her opponent’s sword was a serpent’s strike, aiming for her heart. Maebh
parried, her blade’s path drawing a crescent moon in the air, a motion born
of countless hours of practise. But every deflection and dodge brought to
the surface the thoughts she’d buried.
Gritting her teeth, she lunged. Tiernan was trapped, and she couldn’t
rescue him. Fading back, she swung with a cry, but all she could hear was
the haunting whispers of distrust. She twisted; her blade raised overhead.
Setanta’s disappointment filled the clearing like a fog. Maebh blocked a
powerful blow. Her clan would rather he led them. She jabbed outward,
blindly. Her mother had been right about her. Another parry. She was not
enough.
On and on, she fought until her movements bore the weight of doubt and
pain. The steel was ice, but her heart was engulfed by flames of betrayal.
Each lunge was a reminder of her clan’s sidelong glances. A clumsy swing
brought Maebh to her knees, not from the impact, but from the force of her
own thoughts. She was no longer in the forest but kneeling before the abyss
of her fears. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Tiernan’s stone face
and blamed herself.
Her breathing grew ragged, her strength waning as she fought against the
pull of darkness urging her to jump; to fall into that depth of despair and
never crawl out again. Yes, she’d always been a fighter, but her greatest
enemy was her mind.
“Maebh! Breathe. It’s okay.”
The world came rushing back. The towering trees of Tír na nÓg, the soft,
filtered sunlight. She was on her knees, blade on the leaf-strewn ground,
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